Teenage Angst Meets Actual Monsters: A High School Survival Guide Chapter 2

Her mouth was twisted, fingers nervously gnawing on them. Her beautiful nails were now chewed to the quick, white edges crumbling. When she realized I had caught her, she looked uneasy. Her bright eyes were bloodshot as she quickly backed away.

She blended into the cherry blossoms outside the window.

Then she clutched her chest and turned her head away from me.

I felt a wave of anxiety wash over me and rushed forward to grab her hand.

"What's wrong? Did I make you uncomfortable?"

"No, it’s not you!"

The usually bold Charlotte screamed and violently shook off my hand.

As if I was an unapproachable monster.

I turned away, tears forming in my eyes.

Why?

I hadn’t done anything wrong; I had been nice to them.

First Quinn, and now Charlotte, both treating me like this.

I took out a mirror, checking my reflection from all angles, but nothing seemed off.

I may not be beautiful, but surely I wasn’t repulsive enough to make others feel sick?

Tears filled my eyes.

Charlotte saw and looked a bit guilty, as if wanting to comfort me.

Suddenly, she jumped in fright, rubbing her back frantically.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she shouted, before rushing toward the window!

I quickly pulled her back, with help from classmates who had woken up.

After that, worried about her mental state, I didn’t approach her like I did with Quinn.

I just observed her quietly, afraid she might do something drastic.

Then, one day during PE, Charlotte was missing. Worried, I searched everywhere.

Finally, I found her in the classroom, sitting in my seat and rifling through my desk drawer.

I blinked in disbelief. "Charlotte, what are you doing?"

She didn’t seem to hear me. When she finally found a piece of paper, she screamed.

Looking up and seeing me, her pupils widened in panic.

Before PE was even over, she rushed to the teacher’s office to ask for a seat change.

The teacher sighed, "That seat is great, right at the front. Why do you want to move?"

"I don’t want to be at the front or back. Please, teacher!"

As Charlotte spoke, she glanced nervously out the window, catching sight of me.

She began pleading, "Teacher, please, I’m begging you!"

But the teacher was losing patience. "I have to think about other students too. I can’t cater to all your demands."

Charlotte was left speechless, dropping to her knees in despair.

She wanted to escape.

But seeing me at the door, she didn’t dare step out.

I sighed heavily and turned back to the classroom.

My seat remained empty. Charlotte didn’t return.

The next day, the teacher announced she was taking a leave of absence.

"Charlotte says she’s not feeling well and needs some time off,"

The teacher tapped the blackboard firmly, "Even though we’re only sophomores, we need to concentrate. Environmental issues don’t matter; a calm mind is key."

Despite her words, I couldn’t help but wonder why all this was happening.

After class, I turned to find my best friend Rachel. We hurried to the corridor to talk.

I clenched my fists, saying, "I need to find out what’s going on. Otherwise, I’ll keep overthinking it."

Rachel frowned, "I don’t know, but if you want to investigate, I’ll help."